Labor News & Commentary January 10, 2024 Google has lodged an appeal on the Fifth Circuit against the NLRB

https://onlabor.org/january-10-2024/

By Linh Tang

Linh is a student at Harvard Law School.

The U.S. Department of Labor introduced a final rule on Tuesday that will make it more difficult for companies like Uber and Lyft to classify workers as independent contractors under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Classification as employees, as opposed to contractors, wins meaningful benefits for workers, including minimum wage, overtime pay, protection for organizing activity, among others. This rule, scheduled to take effect on March 11, is closely monitored by major gig economy players and employers in construction, trucking, and healthcare sectors. The rule did and will likely continue to face legal challenges, including opposition from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and congressional review.

Google has lodged an appeal on the Fifth Circuit against the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), who ruled on January 3 that Google had unlawfully refused to negotiate with the union representing contract workers at YouTube. Those workers, directly employed by Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp., were deemed jointly employed by Google in a decision by an NLRB regional director in March 2023, also upheld by the NLRB. The Cognizant workers subsequently voted 41-0 to unionize in April 2023. Since unionization, both Google and Cognizant have challenged the union’s legitimacy and refused to negotiate.

FULL story at link above.